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Is Evanna Lynch a lock to win ‘Dancing with the Stars’? Her contemporary dance was the ‘essence of life’ [WATCH]

Evanna Lynch started out slow on “Dancing with the Stars,” but she has peaked at exactly the right time. Now she’s one of the top dancers going into next week’s season finale. Of course, she had a little help from viewers at home, who voted out another of the season’s top dancers, but Juan Pablo Di Pace‘s loss could now be Lynch’s gain. Watch her contemporary routine above.

The celebs all performed two routines during Monday night’s semifinals: a new routine in a brand new dance style and a Judges’ Choice do-over routine in a style they previously learned on the show. Contemporary was Evanna’s first dance, and she dedicated it to the memory of Simon Fitzmaurice, an Irish filmmaker who directed her in “My Name is Emily” (2015) before he died of ALS in 2017 at the age of 43.

Contemporary routines on “DWTS” are often delicate and tender, but Lynch and her pro partner Keo Motsepe broke out one of the most jam-packed, aggressive, energetic variations on the style I’ve seen on the show. Judge Bruno Tonioli thought it was “strong and heartfelt” with “flawless” storytelling. Carrie Ann Inaba felt the performance was the “essence of life … fierce and loud.” And Len Goodman called it “powerful and polished.”

Lynch got 10s across the board for a total of 30 out of 30. Her second dance, a foxtrot, wasn’t quite as flawless, earning her 28 more points for a total of 58 at the end of the night. That tied her with Alexis Ren for second place on the judges’ leaderboard, but the first-place dancer, Juan Pablo Di Pace, was shockingly eliminated at the end of the night along with Joe Amabile. I thought Di Pace should have gotten a spot in the finals, but I for one would love to see Lynch win if only because her partner Motsepe finally deserves a W after constant early eliminations for the South African pro.

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